Christy Brissette, MSc, RD

Christy Brissette is a registered dietitian and nutrition and food communications expert. She is the President of 80 Twenty Nutrition, a nutrition and food media company with the vision of ending food confusion and dieting and loving your body by giving it healthy, delicious food. Christy is a TV personality and spokesperson, nutrition and food writer and blogger, recipe developer and YouTube video producer. She is regularly interviewed by the media about nutrition and health. Christy also sees private clients and supports them in achieving their best health through excellent, creative and fun eating plans.

Christy completed an Honours BASc in nutrition at Ryerson University and a Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Toronto.

When picking ingredients to make a meal or choosing snacks, most people aren't aware of a "sugar cutoff" they should be looking for. What can be even more confusing is how much sugar is found in seemingly healthy snack foods such as energy bars.

Here are some tasty and nutritious tubers to broaden your horizons and your palate beyond your typical potatoes. Of course, these roots are all gluten free and appropriate for grain-free diets such as paleo or Whole30.

The holiday season is officially in full swing, which means plenty of holiday parties to host and potlucks to gather recipes for. Trying to create something that's healthy, simple and crowd-pleasing can be a real challenge!

The trend is to travel back in time to the good ol' days when we ate real food instead of food substitutes concocted in a lab. As a result, "natural" sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup and molasses have made a comeback. If you don't know much about molasses, ask your grandma... or read on!

A recent survey from LoyaltyOne found that 87 per cent of consumers said they'd be willing to pay more for their groceries if more local foods were available. It's this buying power that drives big box stores and grocery chains to offer more local and organic foods.

Thanks to all of the celebrities and mommy bloggers out there, many new moms feel plenty of pressure to make organic baby food from scratch. Some feel guilty if they don't make all of their own baby food, as if they aren't giving their child the best start possible. But when time and sleep are limited, what's a loving parent to do?

The most famous of the aphrodisiacs, oysters have the "je ne sais quoi" to take your summer gatherings up a notch. These steps are the easiest and the most fun. Slide oyster into your mouth, chew and swallow. Take a sip of wine. Enjoy. Repeat.

The farm-to-table movement is about reconnecting with where our food comes from. The emphasis is on quality ingredients you can trace back to the farm to understand how it was grown, harvested and got to your plate (or glass).

Summer means you're not only busy during the week (ahem, patio season) but you're also racing off on the weekends to cottages, camping trips, BBQs and other fun activities. So how do you eat right when life is so hectic?

Summer means kids are off school and finally free to do what they do best -- run around outside, climb trees, build forts, play sports, ride bikes, swim and more. It's hard enough to get them to come in for lunch to eat something, let alone get them to drink water throughout the day. On hot summer days, that can be a big problem.

Nothing is more celebrated in Canada than the arrival of summer... unofficially known as backyard barbecue party season. But how do you make sure your summer gathering extends from afternoon past sunset?

When most people think about sugar, sweetness is the first thing that comes to mind. Sure, sugar is often added to foods to make them taste good, and does it ever work. But sugar serves other purposes in the food supply, and some of them aren't so easily replaced.

Step aside, kale and cauliflower. There's a new superfood veggie that's at the top of everyone's grocery list! Watercress is a refreshing leafy green that's a close cousin to kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower -- but its health benefits outshine the rest of the family's.

Sure, pasta fits into a healthy 80 Twenty lifestyle, but the common complaint from pasta lovers trying to watch their waistlines is difficulty controlling portion sizes. A cup of pasta looks a little sad when compared to the amount you would typically serve yourself. Especially when you compare to restaurant portions which can be 6 cups of pasta or more!

Nutrition is critical to helping kids reach their full potential. The first three years are especially important because your child's brain is growing. During the early years and beyond, ensuring your child consumes brain-boosting nutrients can help with concentration and performance in school, sports, music and more!